


Save the Princess

by The_PrincessCat



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-07 12:16:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21457924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_PrincessCat/pseuds/The_PrincessCat
Summary: I was given a prompt by my wife to write a short story and thus is what I was able to come up with. When Gladio and Noctis go camping, what trouble can they get themselves into?
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	Save the Princess

“Ssh. Stop fussing. I’m braiding your hair.” Nocits chided from behind Gladio. They had put in a movie, Noctis’s idea, and he suddenly became completely distracted about halfway through. It was a good thing it was one of Gladio’s favorites, or the Prince's sudden desire to play doll would have been annoying. It still might have been. Just a smidge.

Noctis Lucis Caelum was more than likely one of the most useless prince's that the kingdom had ever seen. He was lazy, and if given a chance would sleep all day and stay up all night. In more ways than one, he was a cat, and Gladio and Ignis were the lucky ones who got the job of keeping him in line. One day, they both knew that Noctis would make a great King, even if very few people in the kingdom had hopes for him. For now, it was literally like herding said cat. 

“Lean forward.” Noctis said, pressing his knee into Gladio’s back, not exactly giving the Sheild much of a choice. 

“You couldn’t have done this another time?” Gladio’s low growl of a voice complained, eyes focusing on the screen. 

“I’m almost done.” Noctis promised. Gladio really didn’t mind  _ that much _ . Iris braided his hair all the time; decorating him with flowers was one of her favorite past times. Late Summer was her favorite, because that was when the Gladioli were in full bloom and of course Gladio should wear  _ his _ flower. Gladio knew, thank the Six, that Noctis wouldn’t go that far. 

“Fine.” Gladio shifted further away from the pointy knee, not that he wasn’t used to that, either. “It’s a good think I  _ kinda _ like you, or you’d be dead meat.” 

“Yeah, I am sure that’s what you were thinking about last night.” Noctis chuckled, pulling slightly at the mess of hair that he had almost tamed. 

“Shut it. Or I’ll make you.” The threat came out almost as a whisper. Gladio smirked, vivid images of exactly what had gone on previous evening flashing across his mind. “Have you asked your dad about that camping trip yet?”

“I had Ignis bring it up. Specs hasn’t gotten back to me yet.” Noctis shrugged. 

“I wanted to go this weekend. Ya know. Like I told you a month ago.” Gladio started to look back at Noctis, but two hands firmly grabbed his head, keeping his eyes forward. 

“Just a minute.” Noctis whined, tugging a little more, “You got a hair tie?”

Gladio produced said object, which Noctis had discarded only minutes prior. Noctis quickly tied off his handiwork with a smirk. “You know if anyone is convincing enough, it’s Ignis, right?” 

Gladio grunted, attention back at the fight scene on the screen. “I’ll take your word for it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Somehow Ignis had swung it, and as Gladio finished driving in the last spike he stood, admiring his handy work. It wasn’t even 10:00, and the campground was set up. The tent was pitched at the edge of the haven, and Gladio had successfully built a fire pit downwind of their sleeping space.

Noctis had immediately trotted off to the fishing spot, still within eyesight of the haven. That was a huge part of why they’d chosen this particular location. It was also close enough to Insomnia that they could return at a moments notice if needed.

With a smirk on his lips, Gladio left the haven. It was early summer, and thus, he sported a black tank top with the Crownsguard sigil on the breast. The breeze in the mid morning was nice, and the sound of the tree branches nearby dancing was a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of the city. One of the greatest things about camping was this escape.

With one inhale, Gladio’s nose could have single handedly found the fishing spot where Noctis stood, intent on catching them dinner. “Yo. Princess.” 

“Shh.” Noctis hissed, eyes never once leaving the end of his line. “You’ll scare away the fish.” 

“Well,” Gladio chuckled.  _ If only he put this much effort into anything else he did. _ “I am gonna go find firewood and seasonings. Gonna need the extra help tonight without Ignis cooking.”

“No vegetables.” But that was the last Noctis said as he was now lost in the waters. 

....

By the time the sun had gone down, Gladio not only had a working fire at camp, but he’d managed to find many seasonings as well as some vegetables, to the Prince’s chagrin. Noctis had brought in a hefty haul: one large River Bass and plenty of little fish that Gladio forgot the names of. It was likely due to the fact that he’d gutted what felt like a hundred fish while the Prince played King’s Knight. 

“Damn! Even this far away you can still lose to Prompto.” Noctis chuckled and fell backwards into Gladio’s shoulder blades, arms stretched wide. 

“Yeah, and I can still hear Ignis’s nagging over my shoulder.” Gladio was listening to the camp stove a small distance away. 

“Is food done yet?” Noctis had put his phone down and slid sideways to sprawl on the stone ground. 

“Just about.” Gladio finished the last fish, banishing his knife and the uncooked fish into the Armiger as he stood. “And then we can stare up at the stars and listen to the crackling of the fire.” 

“Yeah.” Noctis righted himself, looking up at Gladio with a yawn. “Or nap. Ya know.”

Gladio rolled his eyes, poking the large fillets of fish with a satisfied nod. “We shall let the night take us wherever it wants.”

Surprisingly to both of them, the food turned out well, and Noctis actually ate a few bites of the vegetables before pushing the rest of them onto Gladio’s plate. Gladio laughed, knowing that it was more than he could ask for. 

“Ya know, you ain’t gonna be a big strong King if ya don’t eat your greens!” Gladio said, polishing off the last of the food on his plate. 

“That’s what you’re for.” Noctis placed the metal plate down with a ping, falling back onto the ground. His eyes stared up at the sky. “And I am not a chocobo. That’s Prompto. He totally eats like one and they are, like, his favorite animal.”   
  


“Don’t get me started.” Gladio stood, collecting the plates and putting them on the campstove before returning to Noctis’s side. “If you get that chocobo song stuck in my head... As much as I like the kid, which isn’t very much, that song is too much. Man. You need to pick better friends!”

It was part tease part seriousness, but either way, as Gladio sat back, laying next to his Prince, Noctis shoved him. “Hey! You leave Prompto out of this. I like my best friend. He’s nicer than you!” 

Gladio chuckled, opening his arm for Noctis to fall down into. 

“You know,” Gladio wrapped his arm around Noct's torso, pulling him against his chest as he spoke. “You don’t seem to think he’s nicer than me when-”

“Stooop.” Noctis moaned, pushed at larger man's torso as a blush ran over his cheeks. 

The silence between them grew, a comfortable understanding that they didn’t really need to talk. The crackling of the fire was calming, and the stars overhead shone brighter than they ever could in the city. After a long while, Gladio had thought Noctis had fallen asleep, but he spoke up, his quiet voice broke the spell.

“You know my dad plans on going through with the wedding.” His tone was flat, and Gladio tensed against the words. 

“Yeah. I know.” 

“You’ll still be here for me when that happens, yeah?” 

They hadn’t spoken about the engagement since it had been announced, and their relationship had only grown deeper since then. It was an unsaid bond, but even as Gladio weighed the words on his heart, he knew that nothing would ever be the same after his wedding vows. 

“I will always be here to catch you when you fall. I am your Shield. You could marry a hundred people and not get rid of me. I’m harder to banish than that.” Though the words hurt, they needed to be said. “I will be with you until the end. Mine, or yours, whichever comes first.”

Noctis’s fingers gripped the fabric covering Gladio’s chest, and he tightened his grip. “Thank you.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Gladio had always been an early riser, no matter when he went to sleep. This morning was like any other. With a gentle press of lips to the soft skin of his lover’s forehead, Gladio was up and on his morning run. It was still dark out, and he knew there was mild danger in an early morning jog, but with his skill level the daemons would be quick work. 

Unsurprisingly, he was able to make it back to the haven without any interruptions as the sun kissed the ever lightening sky. “Noctis? I hope you’re hungry, because I’m starving. I know we’re out fishing for the next couple days, but I saw a herd of garula-”

Gladio hadn’t expected the Prince to be up, not before noon. The entrance flap was lifted open, and Gadio had started to talk to the bed they had shared as he spoke, but his heart fell out of his chest as fast as his jaw hit the ground.    
  
Prince Noctis was not asleep or anywhere to be found within the tent what-so-ever. 

The havens were supposed to be a spot for people to feel safe. They were supposed to be impenetrable. So where in Eos had Noctis gone?

For all that Gladio could tell, the haven was working as normal. The light on the rocks was still illuminated, the smoke light signal still hovered over the site, and any lingering feelings of darkness were gone. So what had happened? 

Gladio took a deep breath, thinking through everything he could. He was gone, maybe forty minutes, so Noctis couldn’t have gotten very far. Letting a slow breath press from his lips, Gladio centered himself, switching from distraught lover to Shield. He moved to his things, grabbing a topographical map of the area, and began plotting. 

After a few minutes, Gladio had two potential locations where someone could have gotten before the sun had fully come up. He knew that Nocts wasn’t helpless, but he also wasn’t going to sit around doing nothing while the Princess saved himself. 

Putting his tracking skills to the test, he started making a loop around the haven trying to spot anything out of the ordinary; foot prints or signs of a tussle. Off in one of the locations he had marked on the map, he saw the distinct boot marks of the Prince next to a bunch of much smaller ones. 

A couple paces further were the same childlike footprints in the soft ground. They were deeper than normal imprints, because of course Noctis would sleep through an abduction. 

_ Sleepwalking? _

Once he knew where he was going, Gladio was sure to make quick work of it. He all but ran through the rocky terrain to the cave that went deep into the hill side. 

The cave was unmapped, and a barricade sat in front of it declaring that it was a closed down mine and it was unsafe. The sign was pushed aside, many little prints, the same he had been tracking, littered around the entrance. This was the spot, undoubtedly. 

Gladio pushed through, the old wood buckling and creaking from his weight. A light on his belt clicked on as the sun vanished behind him. It was quiet, the only sounds were the slow dripping of water from the ceiling and his own footsteps. 

Around the first bend in the path, there was a fork, a vital choice that could mean finding his lover sooner, or potentially too late. Kneeling down, Gladio examined the ground. Footprints went in both directions. 

  
“Noctis, give me a sign.” Gladio whispered, picking up a handful of dirt and letting it fall through his fingers. As if on cue, the Shield heard a yell and the echoing of a blade colliding with stone. 

His body reacted faster, standing and rushing down the tunnel that would lead him to Noctis. Gladio was panting as he came across a large group of Imps, surrounding _his_ _prince_.

“Where have you been?” Noctis whined, his eyes finding Gladio as his blade slashing an imp into miasma. 

“Looking for your sorry behind.” Gladio grunted, summoning his broadsword from the Armiger only to slash a whole line of Imps down in one swift motion. 

“I’ve been fighting these guys off. Woke up and one of them was trying to eat my leg!” 

A few more slashes, and the duo was reunited, however, they were still surrounded by imps on every side. “They just keep multiplying.” Gladio grunted, grabbing Noctis, and swinging him around in a sweeping motion, clearing many of the imps. It was short lived, as the space only refilled. 

“Mad dash to the entrance?” Gladio smirked, looking down at the mess of black hair. 

“Beat you there!” Noctis had already warped ahead, the blue streak of his phase trailing behind him. 

It was more or less easy for Gladio to keep up, once the initial blockade of Imps was gone. Noctis beat him to the entrance, as he grabbed his knees and buckled over from the exertion of it all. 

“I win. And before breakfast.” The Prince took a moment longer to catch his breath before standing and pointing a finger in accusation to Gladio. “And you owe me. Big. Letting me get kidnapped by a bunch of Imps.”

“Well, if Sleeping Beauty wasn’t such a heavy sleeper  _ or _ came with me on my morning run, it wouldn’t have been a problem.”

“I am  _ not _ getting up before the sun!” 

Gladio let out a booming laugh, amplified by the cave behind him. “Yeah, should know better. So, what does the Crown decree?”

“Breakfast. Then fishing. Definitely more fishing.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. I will always respond to comments. Kuddos appreciated. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
